Sunday, August 11, 2013

Armani has released a beautiful, very colorful, new collection for Fall 2013, called Kaleidoscope. Included are six new, limited-edition Eyes to Kill Silk Eye Shadows ($33/0.14oz), five of which I have to show you today (the missing shade, #31 June Beetle, is an iridescent teal that is lighter than the blue shown here, but fairly similar in tone). The collection is inspired by the iridescent shades of scarab beetles and all of the names of these shadows center around that theme. I imagine fans of color will be pretty excited about this collection, while those who shy away from color might be relieved to be able to skip most of these and save for upcoming holiday collections instead.

Since they were first introduced a few years ago, I've been an admirer of the Eyes to Kill shadows, as they are so easy to apply, nicely pigmented, and long lasting. Admittedly, they are pricey but a little product goes a long way and each jar will last you for a very long time. Although L'Oreal, Lancome, and other brands have similar products, Armani's color selections generally tend to be more unique and special, so they remain my favorite.

The shades included in the Kaleidoscope collection are all shimmery, but they are less metallic than some of the ETK shades we've seen in the past, which makes them easier to pull off despite their vibrant color. Some have an interesting duochrome quality. (For more views of these shadows, visit Temptalia, Best Things in Beauty and Color Me Loud.)

Shower of Orchids

#30 Rose Popillia

In its container, Rose Popillia is a pink-mauve shade, like the Shower of Orchids plant shown above. Once applied it is a softly shimmery pink with a grayish undertone, and is one of the strongest duochromes in the collection. This is an interesting shade, and one that I was most attracted to because it seemed the most neutral of the bunch and one I would be more likely to use on a daily basis.

Hummingbird gathering nectar

#32 Gold Hercule

Gold Hercule is a greenish-gold (or goldish-green?). I'll think I'll call it a gold-leaning, iridescent chartreuse. It also appears to have a dusty undertone at some angles. When I first saw it I thought of the color of a hummingbird I photographed a few months ago at Fairchild Tropical Garden. I think it's pretty spot-on! This is a beautiful shade that will look lovely all on its own or as an accent shade on the lids. I like to pair colors like this with dark blues, teals, and emerald shades. I think it will look great with #33 Blue Beetle.

Water lilies at Pinecrest Gardens

#33 Scarab Violetta

Scarab Violetta is a softly shimmery, iridescent mid-tone violet, like the color of purple water lilies. In comparison to the other shades in the collection, this one might not seem as complex, as it does not have a noticeable duochrome quality, but the color itself is very pretty. It is somewhat sheer and more subtle on the skin than it appears in the jar.

Banded King Shoemaker butterfly

#34 Blue Beetle

Blue Beetle is a gorgeous shimmery, peacock blue. It has a subtle charcoal undertone that keeps it from appearing overly bright. You might need to build it up a bit to achieve the intense color you see in the jar. It is that beautiful, iridescent blue color of butterflies like the Blue Morpho and the Banded King Shoemaker, shown above.

Egret lakeside at the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Garden

#34 Silver Chafer

Lastly, is Silver Chafer, a shimmery silver, like the sparkle of a sunlit lake. This is a color I was undecided about because I already own a few silvers and thought, how different is this from other silvers Armani has released in the past, and every other basic silver on the market? I could see that a visit to my local counter was in order! A kind and helpful makeup artist applied Silver Chafer on me along with #33 Violetta, a neutral matte beige crease color, and completed the look with a dark brown liner and the Stretch Lengthening Mascara. I was pleased to see that this silver is not highly metallic, making it softer and more easily wearable than some of the prior ETK silvers, like #12, for example (see comparisons below).

You may be wondering how Silver Chafer measures up to past shades. As you can see below, it is most similar to #22 and #12. If you liked those shades, but found them to be too metallic for your taste, you might want to give Silver Chafer a try.

I've only numbered the shades below and that is because the actual names of the older ETKs are not written on the box (and I'm too lazy to look them up on the web). The good news is, these new boxes are labeled with both the name andnumber, making it a whole lot easier to ID what's inside. I've never been any good at remembering product numbers, but I'm much better with names!

Below are the remaining four shades compared with similar shades in my collection. Lancome's Vibrant Violet is similar to Scarab Violetta--just a bit darker and brighter and more intense. I don't own anything exactly like Blue Beetle. MAC's Deep Truth is not even close, but hopefully it will give you a better idea of this shade. I also don't own anything quite like Gold Hercule. The closest I could find was MAC's Golden Olive, although it is not as complex, and is slightly darker, more shimmery, and brassy in comparison. Lastly, I remembered a recent, limited-edition Maybelline Color Tattoo shade, Seashore Frosts, that is a funky muted duochrome shade, along the lines of Rose Popillia, except it has a predominant blue-green base--but they have in common the same sort of pink/gold highlights with a dusty undertone.

Do you have any favorites or have your eye on any of the other items from Armani's Kaleidoscope collection? This year's trend for fall seems to be bright color, which is unexpected. I love color, but I'm not sure how I'll feel in winter, when I normally gravitate toward burgundies, plums, coppers, and chocolate brown. What do you think about bright colors for autumn/winter seasons?

Sidenote: I am testing out new lighting so that I can take photos indoors, as it is very hot outside where I live at the moment, so if the products shots look different than what you're used to seeing, it is because I am using fluorescent lighting rather than sunlight. I took the swatch photos in bright sunlight, though, as it seems to capture the nuances of colors better than any other kind of lighting I've tried.

38 comments:

Beautiful, beautiful photos and comparisons, as usual! I really love how you found inspiration and partners in nature! I have my eye on a few of these, but I really can't pick. I've never tried the ETK formula before, either, so I'm trying to pick one of the permanent line's shades, too.

Hi Larie, Thank you! :) At first I was going to just show the shadows by themselves but I thought it would be more interesting to bring in some of the nature photos, plus to be honest, I wanted an excuse to use my hummingbird photo lol - it wasn't easy to capture that fast-moving little guy! Oh, you must try at least one ETK! There are a lot of nice shades in the permanent line :)

HI Sunny, thanks! I was also unsure about these at first, as I'm not a big fan of blues/greens but they are fun colors &d now I need to play around and figure out what lip colors and blush looks best with them. :) Gold Hercule is one of my favorites in the collection. :)

Hi Martha, Thank you! :) I am looking forward to trying these out in different combos. I also find silvers hard to pull off because I am pale but warm-toned and silvers are usually too cool and unflattering on me. This one is nice enough, but I wouldn't say it is spectacular. :)

I love how you compared each ETK shade with something from nature. Blue Beetle caught my eye but unfortunately it is not a color I will be using often. Gold Hercule on the other hand, that will get a lot of love from me.

You really delivered an extraordinary post. Opening your feature with the nature/product pictures was a brilliant idea. I've always said that if we need any inspiration when it comes to color, all we have to do is look at nature. Glorious colors in myriad combinations are all around us. Thank you for all the time and effort you put into this comprehensive review.

Hi Eileen, Thanks so much! This was a fun post to put together. One of my favorite hobbies is amateur nature photography, and all those photos come in handy for posts like this. I love spending time in nature, and you are right - there are so many glorious colors around us! :)

I originally came here and thought, "oh I won't be tempted by these."Hahaha boy was I wrong. The rose, gold, and blue are begging for me to buy them. The rose made me think about seashore frosts too - it's good to know they aren't so close, but I'd probably still want to compare in person since the Maybelline generally flashes quite pink for me. Makes me wonder what Rose Popillia would really look like on my skintone. I need a closer Armani counter! :)

Hi Rach, Rose Popillia is definitely different than the Maybelline, but I need to try them both on my eyes to see the differences better. Aw, it's too bad you don't have a closer Armani counter. For me, the colors in this collection are the kind I need to see in person to decide whether or not to buy, unlike taupes or other neutrals, which tend to get an automatic "yes!" :)

Taupe gets an auto-yes here too, hahaha. :)I don't exactly live in the middle of nowhere, but high end beauty counters are definitely hard to come by. A day trip to a real city with a posh shopping mall is sometimes an option, but mostly I have to rely on the tireless efforts of the blogging community and swatch posts such as the loveliness featured here. :) It's been a week and I'm still smitten with your photos so I decided to jump in and order the rose and gold. Who was I kidding- you had me with flowers and hummingbirds. These are my first Armani shadows too, so here goes!

Oh so glad you like them! They do have some amazing colors! When new collections come out sometimes I will buy one every couple of weeks or so to spread out the expense, since they are kinda pricey! :)

Oh my goodness I adore this post! Not only for the swatches, but for the way you laid out the photographs. The shots of the products up against their corresponding inspirations are simply breathtaking.

Hi Sylvia, Thanks very much! ETKs are definitely one of my favorite eye products. It is tough to choose between Gold Hercule and Rose Popillia! I like them equally but perhaps will get more use out of Rose Popillia as it seems to be more neutral :)

Hello, and welcome! I'm a South Florida resident and a lover of nature and beauty with a passion for photography. I'll be sharing recent beauty finds, old favorites, and looks of the day, along with occasional random images of just about anything that catches my eye throughout my daily life.